eBid Auctions

There is, of course, an American partner site, found at www.ebid.com, but UK users will probably want to start here to explore what will normally be a short list of antiques (a couple of dozen only, perhaps) for sale and a very much longer list of collectables.

You need to register to take part fully in this website (a very simple matter, producing a password in your email 'within a few minutes') but there is nothing to stop you exploring it first. The website sells everything, but four categories may be of interest to the readers of this book, namely Antiques, Beanie Babies, Books & Magazines and Collectibles. The last of these may contain several thousand items, though the majority are likely to be postage stamps.

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Clicking on any of the four categories above will lead to a further list of sub-categories that, in the case of Collectibles for instance, includes Fine Art, Autographs, Die-cast toys of various sorts, Music (probably the second largest category), Orientalia, Railwaylia (sic), Science Fiction and so on. Note that you may have to scroll down the page to below the list of Featured Auctions to find these. Many items are looking for bids in the tens of pounds range but every now and then you come across something for which a large sum is being sought, such as £4,495 for 'an England 2006 poster'.

Curiosity getting the better of you, you click for further details and learn that this is apparently one of only fifteen posters made for England's bid to host the football World Cup in that year, a bid now rejected. One day, it might indeed be worth a lot of money!

In the case of Beanie Babies, most items will, of course, be in the 'Retired' and 'Rare' categories, with Nipponia the Japanese Bear apparently being particularly desirable.

Clicking on Make a Bi on the homepage leads to a helpdesk list of instructions. Rather oddly, this list starts with the question 'How do I find out how my auction ended?' but perhaps that is because this is the most frequently asked question. Just above the top of the list are half a dozen links, including myebid (an explanation of the bid-tracking system), after the auction and money (how to pay).

The third homepage option is Sell an Item, which again leads to a list of easily understood instructions and gives details of any charges you will incur. Finally, at the foot of the homepage you will find several other links in brackets, including Soap Box, which is eBid's discussion forum. Escrow (eBid claims a first in offering this service) and Insurance lead to some of the safeguard facilities offered by this website, for instance the system whereby you can pay your money to a third party, only actually paying once the purchased item has been released.